Waste not, want not...

This intimate hotel complex by T3arc for TuboHotel is an intelligent example of recycle and reinvent, with large-scale drainage tubes stacked in groups of three and transformed into habitable private rooms. Taking direct inspiration from the work of architect Andreas Strauss whose Das Park Hotel scheme - incorporating similar drainage pipes into a hospitable network - has been predictably popular with travellers to Bottrop-Ebel, Germany, T3arc has taken a series of raw, discarded tubes and arranged them into a welcoming hotel unit.

Each tube is 3.5m by 2.44m providing a modest living space incorporating a double bed on a light MDF structure, a small desk, natural ventilation through the doors and windows at either end, mosquito nets and incredible views across the scenic surroundings. The grouped tubes are situated at the foothills of the Sierra del Tepozteco in Mexico, with mature jacaranda and plum trees adding to an already beautiful natural environment.

T3arc designed and organised the early section of the project, overseeing the construction of the first set of three tube-rooms, however the TuboHotel administration took over after this point and arranged the construction of the remaining 17 volumes themselves. To keep costs to a minimum, the seals of the companies from which the tubes were sourced have been retained, printed on the raw concrete ‘walls’. The cost per night to stay in the TuboHotel costs 500 pesos + VAT.